Welcome To My Book Addiction

To those of you who are just finding your way over from my blog at Sidhe Vicious Raves & Rants , Welcome!  Please leave a comment and tell me what you think of my new home or about anything you feel like chatting about. And to all of my readers and subscribers - I THANK YOU for continuing to come by and share in my book addiction!  

I’m going to use the comments of this post as my “makeshift” tag board, seeing as how I can’t get one on here. Please feel free to say hello or tell me anything you’d like to see more of here.

On June 8th, I’ll have Chloe Neill, the author of the awesome new book, SOME GIRL’S BITE, here guest blogging and there will be a CONTEST, so make sure to come by on Monday!  

Sharon Ashwood, the author of RAVENOUS has a hilarious guest blog posted here .

Some Girls Bite – Winner

We have ourselves a winner, but before I get to the good stuff, I have to apologize yet again for being M.I.A. So much has happened in the last two weeks that it feels like it’s been a month! I’ll get back into the swing of things soon. Thanks for sticking with me everyone.

I would like to extend my gratitude to Chloe Neill for stopping by and for graciously supplying prizes, as-well-as a huge thanks to all the entrants and for all the great comments. The random number generator has picked #27. CONGRATS to Patricia!!

Please email me your mailing info so we can get your prizes off to you. If I don’t hear back from the winner in 7 days, I will draw a new winner.

Chloe Neill Guest Blog & Contest

Today I am honored to have Chloe Neill, the author Some Girls Bite, an awesome new series about the Chicagoland Vampires, here guest blogging! There’s also a contest so be sure to read on and find out how to enter. So’ll hand the reigns over and extend a warm welcome to Chloe…

Plotting by the Seat of Your Pants

I’ll be honest.  I’m not a great outliner.

I’m currently working on my fourth manuscript, and it’s the first one that I’ve written from a full outline.
I’m not entirely sure what to do about that, as I’m normally more of a plot-by-the-seat-of-my-pants
kind of writer.

Since I tend to write novels in series, I generally have an idea of where I want the series to go—namely,
which heroine and hero will end up together in the end. I also have an idea of the conflicts I want them
to face and the obstacles they’ll need to overcome in order to get together in the end. For each
particular manuscript, I know where the heroine starts, and I know where I want her to end. I also have
an idea of the major points in the story.

Everything else is pretty much a blank page, at least at first. I’ll generally start the book, fill in some big
scenes, write the end, and then begin filling in the rest (80,000+ words) of the novel. Occasionally, once
I’m past the halfway point, I’ll plot out the second half of the book to ensure that the pacing in the
second half of the book is consistent. But for the first 50,000 or so words, I’m writing on the fly.

As you might imagine, this process can lead to some stressful moments.  If I’m tired, if I’m not feeling
the creative drive, or if I’m distracted (dog, boy, job, housework), writing on a blank page isn’t the
easiest thing to do.

And, one of the results of this “process” (to the extent you can call it that), is that I end up dropping a
stitch somewhere in the story because of the sheer number of subplots I have running at any one time.
[Sidenote: As a reader, I like “thick” stories, undercurrents, lots of points of interest.  These kinds of
stories seem more real to me. Think about it—you might have relationship troubles, but you also have a
job to deal with, a family, a home, financial concerns, etc.  Why should it be any different in the world of
the supernatural? Sure, you’ve got paranormal evildoers, but the world doesn’t stop just because the
evildoers come to town.] Luckily, I have a fabulous editor who seems to notice those things, even if I
don’t. J

On the other hand, I worry that if I do outline the entire novel, the writing will feel “administrative.”  I
worry that I’ll lose the creative drive that keeps the word count growing if the writing becomes “filling in
the blanks” of a pre-planned outline. Now that I’m in the thick of that process with the current book
(Chicagoland Vampires #3), I suppose I’ll figure out it.

In the meantime, I thought I’d take a scan around the web and see what other plotting/outlining ideas
folks have to offer. Here’s some linkables:

1. How to Outline a Novel (E-How) { http://www.ehow.com/how_2110891_outline-a-novel.html}: This
site includes tips on plotting the novel in one-thirds, outlining scenes, and using a plot notebook.

2. Storyboarding a Novel (Associated Content)
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/154132/storyboarding_how_to_break_your_novel.html
 The authors call it storyboarding, but this is actually a method utilizing note cards.

3. The Snowflake Method (Advanced Fiction Writing) {
http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php}: Building out the elements of a novel from
sentence to manuscript.

4. Lynn Viehl’s Novel Outlining 101{ http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2007/09/novel-outlining-
101.html}: A professional (and well-published) author offers her perspective on outlining and plotting. I
really like her idea of putting a “novel notebook” together. Lynn also has additional posts on outlining
{http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/search/label/outlining}.

5. Novel Summary Sheet (Writer’s Digest) { http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/870156}:
As the name suggests, a sheet allowing you to create a precise summary of your manuscript.

Here’s my best advice—Take these ideas as suggestions, as tools in your writing toolbox, and don’t
worry about outlining “like the others do.”  You’ll know what works best for you, whether it’s one-page
summary, full outline, notebook, or nothing at all.

Good luck, and thanks to Sidhe Vicious Reviews for having me today!

Chloe

Thank you for taking the time to blog with me Chloe! What a great post. As you can see in my review, I am now officially a Chicagoland Vampires fan-girl. I can’t wait for Friday Night Bites!

CONTEST

Chloe has graciously offered up some great prizes including a signed copy of Some Girls Bite and “Box of Chicagoland Vampire Goodness” for the giveaway including:

1. Signed Chicagoland Vampires bookplate
2. “I Heart Cadogan” bumper sticker
3. Some Girls Bite magnet
4. Cadogan House bar coaster

How To Enter

Leave a comment explaining what you would most look forward to if you were changed into a vampire?  What would you miss the most? 

 

For An Extra Entry: 

-Subscribe to my blog and be sure to verify the subscription through your email. Leave a comment to let me know you’ve subscribed. If you’re already subscribed and you enter, you’ll have an extra entry.

The contest will run until 11:59pm on Sunday, June 21st and the winner will be posted at some point on the 22nd. Please leave an email address in your comment if you’d like an email to let you know if you’ve won. If I can’t contact the winner and I don’t hear back from the posted winner after 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.

Good Luck and I look forward to your comments!

Some Girls Bite – Spotlight & Review

Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill

Paperback: 352 pages

Publisher: Signet (TRD) ( April 7 2009 )

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0451226259

ISBN-13: 978-0451226259

( From Back Cover )

” THEY KILLED ME. THEY HEALED ME. THEY CHANGED ME.

Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn’t exactly glamorous, but it was mine. I was doing fine until Chicago’s vampires announced their existence to the world-and then a rogue vampire attacked me. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker… and this one decided the best way to save my life was to make me the walking undead. 

Turns out my savior was the master vampire of Cadogan House. Now I’ve traded sweating over my thesis for learning to fit in at a Hyde Park mansion full of vamps loyal to Ethan “Lord o’ the Manor” Sullivan. Of course, as a tall, green-eyed, four hundred year old vampire, he has centuries’ worth of charm, but unfortunately he expects my gratitude-and servitude. Right…

But my burgeoning powers (all of a sudden, I’m surprisingly handy with some serious weaponry), an inconvenient sunlight allergy, and Ethan’s attitude are the least of my concerns. Someone’s still out to get me. Is it the rogue vampire who bit me? A vamp from a rival House? An angry mob bearing torches?

My initiation into Chicago’s nightlife may be the first skirmish in a war-and there will be blood…”

WOW! As an avid, or some would say voracious reader, I go through a lot of books. Every once in awhile, you read a book that is so good, you wish you had written it. Some Girls Bite is definitely one of those for me! Chloe Neill’s debut novel comes out  rockin and rollin! I was totally caught up in Merit’s world and I can’t wait for the next book in the series, Friday Night Bites which will be out in October 2009.

Merit’s world is turned upside-down and inside-out and she finds herself immersed in a new life she never asked for. She “rolls with the punches” and has to adjust to a lot of changes. I loved the chemistry between her and Ethan as-well-as between her and Morgan. The other characters are terrific and I was unable to put this book down because I needed to know what would happen! The world building done here is absolutely phenomenal and I hope to see the series go on for a long time.

My wallet hates me, but we have here another “must buy” author. This book is a definite Keeper that I will be re-reading.

Buy Some Girls Bite at Chapters, Amazon.ca, or Amazon.com

 

 

They killed me. They healed me. They changed me.

Blog Poll

I just signed on to my blog using my desktop and the screen size is a bit different than the 17 inch laptop I’m used to using. I can see that I need to resize the awards graphics in my sidebar, but my question to you, my readers. is do you have any other requests, suggestions or ideas to make my blog more viewer friendly? Is there anything you’d like to see here, or don’t want to see?

Now’s your chance to sound off on what you want! I’ll do my best to take it all into consideration and make any changes that I can.

Hope everyone’s having a great weekend.

June Releases

Otherwise known as Sidhe’s Wishlist OR The Month That I Went Broke!

(Also, just a note to say that these are the release dates showing in Canada, although they’re generally the same as the U.S. dates).

May Releases That I Missed

 Jacqueline Carey – Santa Olivia

P.R. Frost – Faery Moon

Alisa Sheckley – Moon Burn

June 1^st, 2009

Carolyn Jewel – My Forbidden Desire

Rhyannon Byrd – Edge Of Desire

Judi Fennel – In Over Her Head

 Toni Andrews – Cry Mercy

Rebecca Brandewyne – From The Mists Of Wolf Creek

June 2^nd, 2009

 Alyssa Day – Atlantis Unleashed

Lisa Hendrix – Immortal Outlaw

Sara Rees Brennan – The Demon’s Lexicon

Dakota Cassidy – Kiss & Hell

Anya Bast – Witch Fury

 Yasmine Galenorn – Demon Mistress

Julie Leto – Kiss Of The Phantom

Mary Janice Davidson – Undead And Unwelcome

Anthology – Fairies Gone Wild

 Laurell K. Hamilton – Skin Trade

Deidre Knight – Red Kiss

Catherine Spangler – Touched By Light

 Cheyenne McCray – Demon’s Not Included

Jordan Summers – Scarlet

Simon R. Green – The Spy Who Haunted Me

 S.J. Day – Eve Of Destruction

Phaedra Weldon – Phantasm

Rachel Caine – Carpe Corpus

Emma Holly – Kissing Midnight

 Caitlin Kittredge – Street Magic

June 7^th, 2009

A.J. Menden – Tekgrrl

June 14^th, 2009

Autumn Dawn – When Sparks Fly

June 23^rd, 2009

 Kimberly Raye – Sucker For Love

As always, if I’ve left any books out that you’d like to see added, please leave a comment. Happy reading!

Karen MacInerney – Spotlight & Review

Howling At The Moon by Karen MacInerney

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages

Publisher: Ballantine Books ( Feb 26 2008 )

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0345496256

ISBN-13: 978-0345496256

( Back Cover Blurb)

“Romance is about to get a little hairy.

Sophie Garou seems to have it all: a great job at a prestigious accounting firm, a closet that rivals a Nordstrom showroom, and a terrific boyfriend who isn’t afraid to use the “M” word. There’s just one little itty-bitty problem: Sophie is a werewolf – and her time of month has a whole new meaning.

Needless to say, life among yummy flesh-and-blood humans is no piece of steak . . . er, cake!, but regular doses of wolfsbane tea and a mother who runs a magic shop have helped Sophie keep her paranormal pedigree under wraps. Still, when a sexy, golden-eyed werewolf prowls into town, Sophie finds herself struggling to keep her animal impulses in check – not to mention trying to keep things on track with her super hot (and super human) lawyer boyfriend. What’s more, someone is threatening to expose Sophie for what she really is. And when her mother is accused of selling a poison-laced potion, Sophie must sniff out a culprit before the fur hits the fan.”

On The Prowl by Karen MacInerney

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages

Publisher: Ballantine Books ( November 25, 2008 )

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0345496264

ISBN-13: 978-0345496263

( Back Cover Blurb)

“Talk About A Bad-Hair Day!

Sophie Garou is a master at taming her inner beast, which comes in handy since she’s a werewolf. With a big promotion at work and a supersexy boyfriend, Heath (whom she recently spotted leaving a jewelry store with a beguiling ring box), she’s one happy girl.

But when Heath starts spending long nights at the office with his new associate–a dead-ringer for Career Day Barbie–Sophie smells trouble. And when her professional relationship with her big new client–who also happens to be Texas’s brilliantly blue-eyed most eligible bachelor–begins to sizzle, she wonders if her animal instincts are leading her in the wrong direction. Just when it seems that things can’t get any more complicated, they do. The Houston werewolf pack has sniffed Sophie out, and their message is chillingly clear: you’re either with us or against us. And unless she can prove that she’s with them, the next full moon may just be her last.”

Random House Canada sent me a copy of On The Prowl to review and I had Howling At The Moon in my TBR pile, so I read both of these books one right after the other. Was I ever glad that I could, because after reading the first book, I couldn’t wait to jump into the next one! Karen MacInerney has written a laugh-out-loud “Urban Werewolf” series that has sass, adventure, humor, passion, danger and a touch of reality. Sophie Garou is such a wonderfully written character that I was cheering her on right from the start.

I love the world building, the writing style, the characters, the smokin HOT men, the conflicts and plotting! I highly recommend this series to everyone who loves a great romp of a read. Karen’s third book in the series, Leader Of The Pack, will be out July 28th, 2009. I will definitely be buying it. I can’t wait to find out what’s going to happen to Sophie next! Yes, Dear Readers, we have here another series that I am hooked on.

Find out more about Karen MacInerney and the books at her Website. 

I give both books

 

May 18th, 2009

Highly Recommend

There are several books out now that I’ve read and highly recommend to you, my awesome readers! Thanks to several migraines, flu’s and a death in the family, I haven’t had the chance to get my reviews up yet, but ALL of these books are 4 or 5 Stars in my opinion, so GO forth and get them for amazing reads ! You can click on the book covers for more information or to buy them.

       

       

       

These are my top 12 recommendations, but there are more awesome books I’ve read as well. I’ll have to put them in another post though. I apologize for being M.I.A. so much lately. Life, death and medical issues aside, I’m still still here and reading. I’d love to hear what books you’ve all been reading and loved!

Charmed & Ready – Spotlight & Review

Charmed & Ready by Candace Havens

Paperback: 304 pages

Publisher: Berkley (MM); Reprint edition ( Aug 5 2008 )

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0425222497

ISBN-13: 978-0425222492

(From back cover)

“After spending most of my life single (for witches, it’s practically an occupational hazard), I finally found someone to love. Okay, so then he got killed, but he’s recouperating nicely. And I should be home, nursing him – maybe just a little bit naughtily – back to health.

But no. The British prime minister asked if I could look after this rock star buddy of his, Zane. Creepy goth guys in cloaks keep showing up at his concerts and zapping his mojo. Hmm, smells like teen warlock to me. Anyway, I owe the PM, and Zane is fun too – I mean, what girl wouldn’t want to hang with the hottest man in music?

Look, everyone has vices. Right now, I’d like to indulge in one of mine and blow some people up so I can get back to my sweetie in Texas. But if these caped dudes don’t show themselves before another paparazzi shot of Zane and me hits the tabloids, I may not have a boyfriend to go home to…”

This is the first book in this series that I’ve read and I enjoyed it. It was a light and funny read. Bronwyn is a fire-cracker of a character and her adventures kept me reading till the wee hours. Sassy, smart, tough and funny, this book is Paranormal Chic-Lit at it’s best.  If you’re a fan of witches, warlocks, demon slayers, rock stars and Buffy type humor and bad luck, then go and pick up a copy of this book.

Awards

I’ve recieved a few more awards from my awesome peers!

Jackie at Literary Escapism, Doug from SciFi Guy, and Ruthie from Ruthie’s Book Reviews all nominated me for the ZOMBIE CHICKEN Award! Thanks! :)

About the Zombie Chicken Award

The blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the zombie chicken – excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their inspiring words. As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all…

Ruthie at Ruthie’s Book Reviews and Jackie at Literary Escapism gave me the LETS BE FRIENDS Award. Thanks so much Ruthie and Jackie!

“The Let’s be Friends Awards stands for this: These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers.”

 

I received the SISTERHOOD Award from Alice at The Bizzare Library and Jackie at Literary Escapism. I’m honered ladies. Thank you both!

This award is for showing great attitude and/or gratitude and I get to nominate 10 other sites to share my joy.

So I’m supposed to nominate 23 people to receive these awards in all. I would like to nominate all the blogs in my sidebar under BLOGROLL and COOL BLOGS/SITES! I love all of them and it’s hard to choose, so I’m passin the love on to all of them.